Nintendo has issued the full English translation of today's Investor's Briefing - though we already reported on plans for amiibo and Virtual Console integration through free software, we can now gain a clearer perspective on the full briefing. For starters, the briefing's delay from earlier in the month is explained - Satoru Iwata states that he suffered a high fever on the original date, therefore it was pushed back.
Moving onto the 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS, Iwata-san has highlighted positive sell-through rates for the platform and, particularly, its games - the statistic of six two million+ selling games in a year was raised once again, in addition to impressive (but previously announced) overall sales for titles such as Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. As expected the Nintendo President has taken the opportunity to highlight New Nintendo 3DS launch sales for North America and Europe. In the first 2-3 days about 335,000 units were sold in the territories, and as you can see in the graph below sales far surpassed the equivalent numbers for the 3DS XL; the previous iteration is often credited with providing a vital second boost to the portable's 'family' in Fall 2012.
The special edition models - themed around The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate - are reported to have largely sold out, with systems as a whole performing strongly over the launch weekend; this certainly tallies with circumstantial evidence on the retail scene in different countries.
I have received reports that pre-orders for this limited-edition hardware went so well that many retailers closed them before the launch date and the hardware almost sold out on the launch date.
Let us know what you think of these results, and whether you feel the New Nintendo 3DS will continue to be a major sales success in the West.
[source nintendo.co.jp]
Comments 48
I wonder if this new itteration of the hardware could be around for longer than many expected. If sales continue at a good rate, theres no reason new 3ds couldnt be around for at least 3-4 years. New control schemes and more powerful hardware might bring other devs to the table. Always puzzled me why the likes of ubisoft never really got into the ds/3ds scene seems like a good fit for them.
Maybe ill get it if my current 3ds ever breaks down(as if). At the moment it just seems too small an upgrade to bother.
@SanderEvers The only people who complain about the C stick are people who never tried the New 3DS. The C stick is super sensitive so it doesn't need a lot of force to be placed on it in order for it to be responsive. It's a nice addition. I can't imagine playing an older model 3DS after playing the New 3DS
I have one and feel sorry for those who don't. And FYI. This is the biggest improvement ever seen in a revision of a Nintendo portable system EVER.
I hope we get the smaller new 3ds this winter 2015 in North America this holiday season. Because if Nintendo likes these sales they'll make a fortune on the other model.
I really like the new 3ds xl! I didn't know what to expect from the C stick and so I went in with a neutral thought about it and came out actually liking it.
@schizor Definitely agree. Imo the DS Lite was definitely the best in terms of a physical revision, but the New 3DS XL trumps all the other revisions not necessarily in terms of its physical appearance (the normal New 3DS probably wins that title even over the DS Lite, but we ain't getting that in NA, are we...) but in terms of its functionality. I've never played my 3DS with such renewed fervor, and I'm definitely playing the hell out of Super Smash Bros like I never did before, especially after getting the Wii U version. The New 3DS is fantastic.
Now, if we can only get the standard New 3DS and those damn faceplates...
Man, I can't wait to get my 3DS XL next week when I get paid. Hoping I can get a Majora/MH4U model, but if not I'll settle for the black one. Really I'll just be happy to have any model.
Was there major shortages for the launch of the XL or something? I had no idea it had such a poor launch. The New 3DS figures are nothing amazing for a hardware launch, but they obliterate those XL numbers.
I have no reason to upgrade now, but if they come out with a white XL with the coloured buttons then I'll be tempted.
My impression so far is that the new 3DS XL is what the 3DS should've been from the get-go. If i already owned a regular XL and if the MH4 edition wouldn't be so sexy i dunno if i would've gotten it yet.
I am so happy I upgraded it has completely changed how I hunt in a portable monster hunter game for the better. I didn't even realize I was missing a C stick but my eyes have been opened. The super stable 3D is also amazing for playing on the go or online as the sweet spot is large enough for excitable movement. The speed improvement of the CPU is also awesome as it means that miiverse is actually usable on the 3ds as it only takes seconds to open. I highly recommend the New 3ds it is a genuine improvement and the new cover plates rock! =)
@schizor
Hello schizor. Had one from ambassador launch and fully agree with you.
Imagine the sales North America could've had if they released the standard size New 3DS here.
Solid numbers regardless! Literally every store with an online inventory tracking system within 50 miles of me is sold out of both colors. It'll be interesting to see of sales remain strong once the units become more common.
@schizor I totally agree with you. Faster, amiibo support and the 3D viewing
I hope the New range does well. It deserves it. I've now got three 3DSes, not including the three my girlfriend has. Favourite console ever.
Nintendo has rissen from its ashes and now its gonna rip apart all the competition ! lol
Wow... What happened to all the naysayers?! Last month they were screaming at the top of their lungs "yet another failure for Nintendo!" "No one will ever buy this!" "Good riddance to Nintendo!" and so forth... No comments haters? Good. No one wants to hear your armchair CFO ideas anyhow.
@ericwithcheese2 if the XL had not outsold the standard model in America, perhaps we would have had it at launch. Reality is, Americans like bigger electronics (at the moment, things change), so they clearly made the right move here (seeing the numbers). I imagine the numbers would simply have been split between the XL and standard versions.
C stick is awesome! Graphics are superb!
@Platypus101 Oh, I'm not too sure. I think the XL outsold the standard model because the original came out at such a high price, whereas the XL was affordable right from the get go. They also had many more Special Editions of the XL and the original model was phased out, removed from their website, and extremely hard to find just over as year after the XL came out.
I know a lot of people in person and online who held off getting (or attempting to get) an XL because they prefer the smaller size or wanted the faceplates. Additional choices are never a bad thing and I do think these great sales figures could have been even higher.
@ericwithcheese2 remember this is just for launch week ...The fact that more Americans have MULTIPLE (I wish there was way to do italics, I hate bold for emphasis) smart devices (phone and other) the price point has to be lower just to compete. (I speak from a U.S. standpoint as I happen to live there and that's the "news" we get) either way, good news for us gamers!
@Morph because they can't release Assassins Creed games in there and also because Nintendo won't give them a dime for them to work on their AC poop.
Yeah, it would be nice to trade in my current XL for a New XL, but I am low on money, and the small upgrades aren't that important to me. I don't mind the longer load times or not having a C stick. I don't hardly ever use the 3D because it strains my eyes and sucks the battery life faster. I don't play Monster Hunter games, and I'll just continue using the L and R buttons for my camera control in games that support camera movement.
@Platypus101 I agree. I do think a standard new 3DS model at a $169 price point wouldn't have done any harm though.
Regardless, the new models are sold out at every retailer within 50 miles of me. I think sales numbers will be strong for weeks to come.
@ericwithcheese2
I'd had the new 3ds sold for 179 with the choice of a free faceplate, but just at launch. Remember that Nintendo makes more by selling 3dsxl than regular 3ds.
Ugh, I want to buy it too so much. But I lent some money to a friend and he still has to give it back. Anyway, these sales are impressive, I didn't really thought so many people were going to buy it. Good for Nintendo. Anyway, I have a question : is there still the risk of dust getting under the screen through the speakers(or however it got there)? Because it happened to me recently on my XL and it's so annoying, so I hope neither version of the New3DS has this problem.
It's good to hear that New 3DS XL started off better than the 3DS XL. Hopefully that means NoA will bring the standard size New 3DS (white one, I hope) to the US the same year because I have no interest in the N3DSXL, and this is coming from a man who buys anything that is Nintendo.
This is what the 3ds should gave been from the start.
Well worth the upgrade.
Can somebody please explain the graph and numbers to me?
What I understand is the graph represents ONLY 3DS XL numbers sold when it released in Fall 2012 vs. both new 3DS and new 3DS XL when they launched in the west. Which would make comparing the sales of the new models to the 3DS XL absolutly worthless and stupid. Why not compare 3DS XL and new 3DS XL or compare 3DS XL and 3DS to new 3Ds and new 3DS XL. It makes absolutely no sense to just compare the sales of 1 model to 2.
Unless I'm reading it wrong and this is only comparing old 3DS XL to new 3DS XL (which would make sense in the US as we didn't get new 3DS) and the regular new 3DS isn't included? Which is why I started this comment w/ a question.
Also - and this is very important - what special models were there when the old 3DS XL launched which would have made it sell as well as the MH4U and Majoras Mask models? For all we know a lot of these sales have nothing at all w/ the 3DS being "new" but instead were from people who just wanted the Majroa's Mask and MH4U models.
Basically that graph is a piece of dreck and the numbers it represents are meaningless. At least as I understand it, hopefully I'm reading it all wrong.
I tried to buy a new 3ds over the weekend, every store is sold out =(((
sorry to say but those... are kind of crappy sales figures... The 3DS in general had 7 times that figure when it was first launched and that was when the 3DS was considered too expensive and was on the road to bad sales.
@ikki5 Well sucks were not talking about the 3ds are we?Cause it doesn't have the word NEW next to it.That makes it special and unique and gets all the fanboys running to stores!
@midnafanboy those numbers are going to drop really fast though.
@rjejr
"Basically that graph is a piece of dreck and the numbers it represents are meaningless. At least as I understand it, hopefully I'm reading it all wrong."
Pretty much.
All they are doing is comparing the sales of an unestablished console (the 3DSXL, which was released when the console was still finding its footing) to an updated revision of a now popular console. The numbers are meaningless.
It's like Apple bragging that the iPhone 6 is outselling the iPhones 1-3. Ya....big shocker there.
Nintendo are the masters of releasing sales data that sounds impressive based on how they word it, when in actuality it is not that great, i.e. "It sold 200% more units than last month" (not mentioning that the previous month only sold 1000) or "sales are up 50% compared to this quarter last year" (not mentioning that the quarter they are comparing it to was the worst in their companies history).
The sales of this new console are alright, but the way Nintendo worded it makes it sound much more impressive than it actually is.
Remember when the Wii U launched big and then sales quickly tapered off?
Be prepared, folks...
@iPWNoobs The c-stick is wonderful.
Scalpers.
@SanderEvers
yes, i guess that is true but the thing is, by the time those new games come... the magic of the system is gone. It's doesn't rely surprise me on why Nintendo is kind of failing with their hardware. Really, they should have waited a year, and pushed out the successor to the 3DS instead of try to stretch out the legs of the system. Next year the system would be 5 years old, it would not have been too early to early to announce the successor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsqmU3v0hVA
Kind of makes me wonder how much of them were limited edition model compared to standard model. Like if the shipment of Majora's Mask and Monster Hunter 4 New 3dsxl in NA was in the 5 digits (ex. 30,000) or around 100,000 combine.
In any case, still good news. I'll lend my cash support when the smaller New 3ds comes out.
@ikki5
Releasing a new generation of hardware is a HUGE financial drain. Costs of R&D in the tens, sometimes hundreds of millions. Zero install base, low software sales for the first few years, lack of support until install base increases, etc.
Nintendo only just started doing well with the 3DS 2 years ago. To throw 50 million customers away and fork out hundreds of millions to bring new hardware to the table so soon doesn't make any sense. There's a reason Sony and MS took so long releasing their new hardware- the longer a console generation lasts- the more profitable it becomes (provided software sales haven't dropped off the cliff yet).
3DS has a lot of life left in it. And with Wii U where it's at, I imagine Nintendo will try to stretch both lifespans as long as possible to recoup as much money as they can.
Their business thrives on software sales. Bringing new hardware is not only a huge financial blow, it basically resets software sales potential back to ground zero. As long as people are still buying games for 3DS, they'll keep supporting it.
Usually Nintendo shoots for 6 year lifespans. Which means we can expect the 3DS to last at least another 2 years, and the Wii U another 3.5 years. We probably won't see the 3DS successor announced until not this E3, but the one after that, with a March 2017 release to follow.
Great numbers for N3DS!!!!
@MasterBlaster - "Pretty much."
Thanks.
Still really wish they'd release the normal New 3DS in the US
@bofis I agree. While I generally prefer the larger variant because of my man hands, I know others and young people do have smaller hands and a standard console would be perfect for them.
Freedom of choice is never a bad thing, but due to region locking it's impossible for North Americans to own the standard size.
Also faceplates are cool, but nothing beats my Gold limited Majora's Mask 3DS. And before anybody asks, yes, I camped out for it.
Well... I'm no a great fan of the new place for the micro SD, but the New 3DS looks really pretty, I'll buy one as soon as possible
It really is a poopy name.
They should've just called it Super 3DS, because the buttons and all. Would make more sense and normal non-gaming people would know immediately that ok, this is something different from the old ones.
Same with Wii U. Who the hell in Kyoto came up with that stupid name. It should've been Wii 2 and devices would have been flying off the shelves to customers.
@StarDust4Ever The standard New 3DS with the Majora's Mask faceplate beats that special edition by a mile. Lol.
Yeah well sadly people living in North America don't have that luxury. The Faceplates themselves are region free, whereas the standard New Nintendo 3DS isn't.
Don't worry. PDP or Hori will make covers. I plan on getting the clear cover to protect my investment.
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